Pontoon boat

ABSTRACT

A pontoon boat comprising water-tight drums axially aligned in end-to-end abutment and a ring clamp for clamping together the flanged ends of two juxtaposed drums. The ring clamp is provided with three bolts extending radially outwardly in specific angular relationship to secure a horizontal and two vertical structural elements respectively. Each pontoon has a unique bow. Supports for an upper deck extend downwardly and outwardly from the upper deck at an angle of about 5 degrees from vertical.

United States Patent [191 Schott PONTOON BOAT [76] Inventor: Lawrence A.Schott, 13930 Stansbury, Detroit, Mich. 48227 1 [22] Filed: Aug. 29,1973 [21] Appl. No.: 392,675

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.282,963,'Aug. 23,

1972, abandoned.

115/22, 26; 9/1 R, 2 R, 2 S, 11 R; 285/408, 413

[111 3,857,352 [4 1" Dec. 31, 1974 3,109,183 Overmyer 9/11 R 3,179,9604/1965 Nimmo 9/2 R 3,455,115 7/1969 Watts et a1. l14/.5 F 3,520,563 7/1970 Decker 285/408 X [5 7] f ABSTRACT A pontoon boat comprisingwater-tight drums axially aligned in end-to-end abutment and'a ringclamp for clamping together the flanged ends of two juxtaposed drums.The ring clamp is provided with three bolts extending radially outwardlyin specific angular relation- [561 21;;22,?122;;isszizawistszz121'21222:; UNITED STATES PATENTS bow. Supports for an upperdeck extend downwardly 1,762,451 6/1930 Murphy 114/61 and outwardly fromthe upper deck at an angle of Webster et I about 5 degrees from vertical2,962,996 12/1960 Smith 9/11 R X 3,004,268 10/1961 Haas 9/11 R 3 Claims,6 Drawing Figures PONTOON BOAT CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Pontoon boats are popular but they aregenerally somewhat expensive. The use of a plurality of assembled drums,such as the commonly available 55-gallon steel drums, particularly useddrums, as pontoons is an attractive and very economical'alternative tothe spe cially designed unitary pontoons most often used for a pontoonstructure, they present problems in connecting the drums in the form ofpontoons and in securing structural elements of the boat to them andparticularly, in a manner such that load distribution is well balancedover each drum.

Drum connectors, such as disclosed in US Pat. No. 3,004,268, issued onOct. 17, 1961 'to W. F. Haas generally comprise'a flat ring clamp forclamping together the flanged ends of two juxtaposed drums. It has beenfound, however, that the prior art drum connectors or clamps providedonly a loose connection between adjacent drums due primarily to thelarge amount of surface contact between the clamp and the drums and, as.such, the drums often are separated from each other when laterallystruck by a rock or other obstruction in the water.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide aring clamp for clamping together steel drums for a pontoon boat whereinthe clamp securely fastens the drums end to end and axially biases theadjacent drums toward each other.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide for a kit ofmaterials to be purchased by the builder from the manufacturer for easyassembly of a pontoon boat without requiring any metal work or, in fact,any alteration of the readily available second-hand steel drums. Anyalteration of the bow drum for each pontoon which may be required can bedone by the manufacturer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION one drum to the next. The ends of the metalband, at.

the segmental opening, are flanged radially outwardly. A bolt passedthrough the flanges serves to tighten the ring clamp around the flangedends of two abutting drums.

Each ring clamp is also provided with three radially outwardly extendingconical protrusions which receive bolts therethrough for securingstructural elements of the boat to the ring clamps and, hence, thedrums. The first bolt is positioned at the top of the ring clamp andserves to secure a horizontal structural element, such as floor joist,to the pontoon. The term top as used herein means the top of the ringclamp when it is in its functional position in the boat structure.Similarly, the terms inward", outward, downwardly, forwardly,rearwardly", and the like, are used relative to the boat.

The second bolt, on the inward side of the ring clamp, is spaced fromthe bolt about 90 radial degrees and serves to secure a verticalstructural element, usually a bracket, which extends downwardly from ajoist in the floor of the lower deck of the boat. A third bolt ispositioned on the outward side of the ring clamp, is spaced from thefirst bolt about -75 radial degrees, and also serves to secure avertical structural element, usually a hand rail, upright.

The ring clamp is therefore a very versatile element of the pontoon boatstructure. Because of the presence of three spaced conical protrusionsand their associated bolts thereon and their function of securinghorizontal and vertical structural elements of the boat, no alterations,and particularly no metal work, need be done by the person who assemblesthe boat. Specifically, the drums require no metal work which mightresult in defects in the metal and ultimately leaking when the drums areplaced in the water.

An additional feature of the invention is providing for the distributionof the load supported by each drum. In the present invention the forceof the weight of the boat is directed downwardly .to three conicalprotrusions in the ring clamp thereby reducing shear force on the threefastening bolts. A portion of the force is directed downwardly on thetop conical protrusion toward the center of the ring clamp, a portion isdirected downwardly tangentially to the ring clamp on its inward side,and a portion is directed downwardly not quite tangentially to the ringclamp on its outward side. The latter downward force is not quitetangential (but partly directed toward the interior of the ring) for thereason that the third protrusion and its associated third bolt, theoutside, of the ring clamp is not spaced radial degrees from the topbolt, but only 70-75 degrees. Downward forces on the three conicalprotrusions of the ring clamp are then spread over the ring clamp itselfand ultimately fairly, evenly over the area of the drum under the ringclamp.

ln explaining why the third, or outside, conical protrusion and bolt ofthe ring clamp of the invention is spaced less than 90 degrees from thetop bolt, another feature of the invention can be pointed out. Where thepontoon boat of the invention is provided with an upper deck, or sundeck, the supporting members of the upper deck are inclined at an angleof about 5 degrees from vertical and supported at their lower ends atpoints which result in a second downward force on the third, or outside,conical protrusion, which force also is not quite tangential to thedrum. The sum of the two not quite tangential forces, however, yields atangential force vector on the outside side of a drum which issubstantially equal to the tangential force on the inward side of thedrum. In this manner, forces tending to rotate a drum clockwisesubstantially balance forces tending to rotate the drumcounterclockwise.

The above mentioned degree inclination of the upper deck support for anine foot support (by way of example) brings the outside edge of theupper deck over a line about 9 inches inside the outer edge of thedrums. With such a deck and assuming it is no longer than about half thelength of the lower deck, the center of gravity'of the boat is quitelow.

DESCRIPTION or THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pontoonboat embodying the present invention but detailed structures omitted;

FIG. 2 is a side detailed elevation view of the ring clamp andassociated structure of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the ring clamp at line 33 of,FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of an altered drum preferablyforming the bow of each pontoon;

FIG. 5 is a view substantially similar to FIG. 3, but

showing the ring clamp in a fully tightened down position, and

FIG. 6 Ban enlarged, partial perspective view showing the fastening andtightening means for the ring clamp.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED I EMBODIMENT 28 is supported by hand railuprights 30. The lowerdeck floor and the upperdeck floor are supportedby suitable joists as at 34, 36. The drum brace bracket 38 extendsvertically downwardly from a joist 34.

Each drum is provided with a peripheral flange having a radial extendingportion, as at 40, 42, juxtaposed flanges being clamped together with aring clamp 44 (see FIGS. 3 and 5), as will be more fully describedhereinbelow. i

As best seen in FIG. 3, the ring clamp 44 comprises a flat middlesection 100 and diverging side flanges 102 and 104 on each side thereof,such that a 50 to 70 degree angle, and preferably a 60 degree angle (asshown) is maintained between each side flange 102 and 104 and the middlesection 100 of the ring clamp, 44. The width of the middle section 100of the ring clamp is somewhat less than twice the axial length of thedrum rim 40 or 42 and the width of the side flanges 102 and 104 issomewhat greater than the radial width of the drum rim, such that theinner surfaces 106 and 108 of the side flanges 102 and 104,respectively, upon tightening of the ring clamp engage the outersurfaces 110 and 112 of the drum rims 40 and 42, respectively,

If the ring clamp 44 is over-tightened or, alternatively, if the lengthof the drum rims .40, 42 is less than standard size, as shown in FIG. 5the side flanges 102 and 104 axially force the drum rims 40 and 42toward each other until the edges 114 and 116 of the side I drum, thuspermitting the indentations 118 in the drum and the resultant firmgripping action of the ring clamp 44. The free edges 114 and 116 arealso preferably pointed radially inward, as shown at 119, to furtherreduce the surface area contact between edges 114 and l 16 and the drums2 0and 22 and enhance the gripping action of the ring clamp 44.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2,the drum joining ring, or ringclamp 44, is split or provided. with an open segmental portion or gapcomprising flanges 46, 48 extending radially outwardly. The generallyV-shape of the ring clamp 44 is preferably maintained in the flanges 46and 48 (see FIG. 6) to increase the strength of the flanges 46 and 48. Abolt 50, passed through appropriate apertures in the flanges 46, 48,threadably each other while maintaining the middle section 100 of thering clamp 44 in a spaced apart parallel relationship to the outersurfaces 109 of the drum rims 40 and 42.

engages a nut 47 for tightening'the ring clamp 44 about the drums,

A bolt 52 is disposed at the top of the ring clamp 44 and is adapted tobe received into an aperture in a right angle bracket 53 to secure ahorizontal-structural element, for example a joist 34, to drum.Preferably, a conical a conical protrusion 49 extends outwardly from theclamp 44 through the aperture in the bracket 53 so that the shear forcebetween the bracket 53 and the ring 44 is applied to the engagedsurfaces of the periphery of the conical protrusion 49 and of theaperture in the bracket rather than to the body of the bolt 52.

A bolt 54, spaced about 90 radial degrees from the top bolt 52, servesto secure a vertical structural ele-,

ment, the drum brace bracket 38, to the inward side of ing aperture inthe bracket 38 for avoiding the load shear force from being applied tothe bolt 54 A boIt 56, disposed about -75 radial degrees from the topbolt 52, serves to secure a vertical structural element, one of the handrail uprights 26, to the outward side of a drum. A bump rail 58 is alsosecured to a row of hand rail uprights 26 of the pontoon as by bolt 56.A third conical protrusion 57, like the conical protrusions 49 and 55,eliminates the application of shear force to the bolt 56. i

Supports 60, preferably inclined about 5 degrees from vertical, supportthe outside edge of the upper deck 18 and each such support 60, at thebottom thereof, is secured near the bottom of a hand rail upright 26, asby bolt 62.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 4, a drum 21 forming the bow ofpontoon 12 is shown as having been cut along the inclined edge 64, thatis, along a plane extending downwardly and rearwardly. The forwardlyconvex, scoop-shaped face 24 having edges 66, 68 is positioned againstthe open end of drum 21 and the two pieces are welded together as, forexample, along edges 64, 66. A top cover plate 25, having edges 70, 72is then welded todrum 21 and face 24 to weld, for example,

edge 64 to edge 72 and edge 68 to edge 70.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art to which the inventionpertains that various changes and modifications may be made therein.without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of theappended claims I claim:

1. A pontoon boat comprising:

a pair of substantially parallel pontoons each made of a plurality ofwater-tight drums axially aligned in end-to-end alignment, each of saiddrums having a peripheral flange with a radial extending portion at eachend thereof;

a ring clamp for clamping together the two juxtaposed flanges of twoabutting drums, said ring clamp having side flanges disposed at adiverging angle for forcing said peripheral flanges of said abuttingdrums axially toward each other; and

a superstructure attached to said ring clamp;

wherein said ring clamp comprises:

a middle substantially flat portion in a spaced apart parallelrelationship from said juxtaposed flanges of abutting drums, said sideflanges extending inwardly from each side of said middle portion of saidring clamp and intersecting said middle portion at an angle of between50 and 70 radial degrees;

a segmental opening provided with outwardly eX- tending radial flangesand a bolt threadedly engaged with said radial flanges in a manner suchthat turning of said bolt respectively tightens and loosens said ringclamp;

a first means positioned on the top of said ring clamp for securing ahorizontally extending structural element thereto for supporting saidsuperstructure, a second means positioned on the inward side of saidring clamp, displaced about 90 radial degrees from said first means andadapted to secure a first vertically extending structuralelement'thereto for supporting said superstructure, and a third meanspositioned on the outward side of said ring clamp, displaced about toradial degrees from said first means and adapted to secure a secondvertically extending structural element thereto for supporting saidsuperstructure, wherein said first, second, and third means comprise anoutwardly extending conical protrusion on said ring clamp extending.

through a receiving aperture in said respective structural element andan axially aligned aperture through said conical protrusion adapted toreceive a bolt therethrough. 2. The boat according to claim 1 furthercomprising a bow for each of said pontoons comprising an open drumportion made from a drum cut on a transverse plane at an angle to theaxis of said drum; a forwardly convex, generally scoop-shaped frontcover plate secured to the open end of said drum portion and partiallycovering the open end of said drum portion; and a top cover platecovering the balance of said open end.

said drum.

1. A pontoon boat comprising: a pair of substantially parallel pontoonseach made of a plurality of water-tight drums axially aligned inend-to-end alignment, each of said drums having a peripheral flange witha radial extending portion at each end thereof; a ring clamp forclamping together the two juxtaposed flanges of two abutting drums, saidring clamp having side flanges disposed at a diverging angle for forcingsaid peripheral flanges of said abutting drums axially toward eachother; and a superstructure attached to said ring clamp; wherein saidring clamp comprises: a middle substantially flat portion in a spacedapart parallel relationship from said juxtaposed flanges of abuttingdrums, said side flanges extending inwardly from each side of saidmiddle portion of said ring clamp and intersecting said middle portionat an angle of between 50 and 70 radial degrees; a segmental openingprovided with outwardly extending radial flanges and a bolt threadedlyengaged with said radial flanges in a manner such that turning of saidbolt respectively tightens and loosens said ring clamp; a first meanspositioned on the top of said ring clamp for securing a horizontallyextending structural element thereto for supporting said superstructure,a second means positioned on the iNward side of said ring clamp,displaced about 90 radial degrees from said first means and adapted tosecure a first vertically extending structural element thereto forsupporting said superstructure, and a third means positioned on theoutward side of said ring clamp, displaced about 70 to 75 radial degreesfrom said first means and adapted to secure a second verticallyextending structural element thereto for supporting said superstructure,wherein said first, second, and third means comprise an outwardlyextending conical protrusion on said ring clamp extending through areceiving aperture in said respective structural element and an axiallyaligned aperture through said conical protrusion adapted to receive abolt therethrough.
 2. The boat according to claim 1 further comprising abow for each of said pontoons comprising an open drum portion made froma drum cut on a transverse plane at an angle to the axis of said drum; aforwardly convex, generally scoop-shaped front cover plate secured tothe open end of said drum portion and partially covering the open end ofsaid drum portion; and a top cover plate covering the balance of saidopen end.
 3. The boat as defined in claim 1 wherein the width of saidmiddle portion of said ring clamp is slightly less than twice the axiallength of said peripheral flange of said drum.